Component extraction devices presently utilized in the electronics field are generally of a simple nature. As applied to the removal of multi-leaded integrated circuit packages which have been soldered to a printed circuit board, they are a pliers-like tool. An operator uses the latter to grip the component and to manually exert a force thereon directed away from the board, as the lead solder connections are heated to reflow the solder. The critical part of the removal process is the precise time when the extraction should take place. This time is a variable, depending for example, on the number of leads and the solder joint strengths. Moreover, when the solder joints of a multiplicity of leads are reflowed simultaneously, some joints may require a longer heat exposure because of the heat-sink properties of the copper planes within a multi-layer board to which the corresponding leads are attached. If an operator manually attempts to extract a component before all of the solder joints are sufficiently reflowed, damage can occur to both the printed circuit board and the component. In the former, the plated hole sleeves may be torn from the board rendering it unusable or in the latter, the component leads may be broken. On the other hand, the application of high temperatures to the board and the component for too long a period of time during extraction is inefficient from the standpoint of time loss and is deleterious to both the board and the component.
What is required is an extraction tool in which the extraction force provided thereby is not based upon operator judgment, but is instead, predetermined within the tool itself. Moreover, the operation of the tool should remain constant with every use, thereby eliminating the possibility of damage attendant with the application of manual extraction forces. The device of the present invention fills such a need.